chrisp7091

Well lucky smug old you.

Yes you are correct, I understood the other 850 billion of debt was in the form of state guarantees for the rest of the banking system?. Hardly makes what Thatcher kicked off seem any better though...

You are spot on. We also sold off our state owned assets to pay for her monetarist experiments that have all now gone terribly wrong. No one can possibly pretend we are in a good position these days. This is directly the fault of Margaret Thatcher and her 'actor' friend in the States.

Yes, but you prospered on the back of a financial boom that had no sound basis in reality - prompted by the financial madness Thatchers polices created. A typical response from a member of the 'me' generation that shows no care for the wider good of society. We are all now paying for this kind of attitude.

Isn't her adminstration directly responsible for the mess we're in now?. She oversaw the deregulation of the banking system that led to the disasters of 2008. Reagan did the same thing in the US - handing us all over to corrupt and short sited financial speculators who have more or less destroyed the world economy. Makes me laugh when our debts are all laid at Gordon Brown's feet. Out of the 165 billion we owed, it cost 133 billion just to buy out RBS, Bradford and Bingley and Northern Rock. Our debts and our current financial situation have been piling up since Thatcher did her worst!.

This weekend, I bought some fish from a couple of guys representing a company called 'Exquis - eat'. They make their deliveries in a small van and just knocked on the door to see if we were interested. Anyone else had any dealings with them?. Are they reputable?. We tried the fish and it seemed quite nice, by the way.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Velbon-Ultra-REXi-Tripod-legs/dp/B003N3VLU4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325331954&sr=8-1 Anyone got experience with one of these tripods?. I was considering one for myself. It looks the business because it folds up to be very small and light. If I bought a heavier model, I can imagine it never getting used as I'd just leave it in the house, due the weight and inconvenience.

Thanks very much. The main problem was getting sand in my eyes - the wind was really blowing it hard. I risked a fairly fast shutter speed, so I didn't have to use a tripod. It was just too blustery for me lug it out of the car. Look forward to your photos. I think Redcar has seen better days. At least they managed to keep the steel mills open over the last couple of years, so not all the jobs have gone. I would've loved to get in a bit closer for photos of the industry, but the blowing sand was just too bad. I decided to head back to the in laws after a few shots.

Cheers. Glad you liked it. Merry christmas to everyone in Sheff and Redcar!.

Sounds like fun!. I'll put myself forward to take some photos :-)!!. Let me know the details when its all arranged.

Here is one of mine - not exactly your usual festive fare, but I was still pleased with it!!. For the most part, I took pictures of my family, but here is one from a Christmas day stroll on Redcar beach. I was staying with my in-laws in the north east. BTW, the date on my camera is wrong, so the exif on this one shows 24.12. Anyone else got some to show?.

Must admit, after venturing out to buy some last minute pressies today, it makes me wonder how so many people seem to get pleasure from the idea of shopping. DEEPC'S video is spot on - everyone milling about like mad things buying stuff they don't need!. Of course, if the missus has secretly bought me a Nikon D700 for Christmas, I'll eat my words!. Fat chance :-).

That's pretty cool :-)!. I liked the shifts in focal length. It gives the sequence a really professional look. We all look like ants rattling about in an ant hill......

Yes, sure. I must admit to being quite interested in all the details of the ride, so I ended up just focussing on them. The other problem is the ride owners have organised a bunch of temporary metal barriers round a fair bit of the merry go round and they don't look that attractive. I thought they kind of got in the way of a nice picture and were quite ugly - obviously they are just there to stop people grabbing a free ride. I did take a couple of shots from the direction of the old NUM building, but the light was going and the scene looked quite dull. Did you hear they are converting that building to a new casino?. Really going up market then...!. I realise its just stood there looking sad and empty, but its a pity something more worthwhile can't be done with it. Sorry if I'm being snobbish.

There's a fantastic merry go round parked in front of the John Lewis in Barkers Pool at the moment. Couldn't resist taking some snaps. Very Christmassy|!. Hope you like them:

I was wondering if the mirror lock issue was a battery problem, given the cold weather?. Anyhow, here are a couple of moon shots I quite liked from a couple of days ago. Not exactly night-time, but very late afternoon. I've been told the effect of the moon appearing very large when its low in the sky is an optical illusion?. Well in theis instance, it was large in my pictures, aswell:

Hi Aly - looking forward to seeing your adjustments :-)!. Sending you my pm!

One of my colleagues asked if I would take some pictures of him that would have a Vinnie Jones 'movie style' bad guy look, if you see what I mean. Anyhow, here are the results. The office space we had to use was almost impossible, lighting wise. All we had were a few ceiling lights and a hand held desktop daylight bulb for illumination. Even just messing about like this, it took about 40 minutes to get anything without 'blur' in the shot, due to the long exposures. I used a tripod, but the subject couldn't stay still for long enough!. I enjoyed the experience, but it made me realise how careful you have to be to set these things up right. One thing I thought these are all missing is a 'glint' in the eye. Other than that, I liked the skin tones and some of the harsh directional lighting on his face. We were hoping to put across movie style highlights and shadows - not a traditional evenly lit photo studio look. I'm afraid the shot with the gun is incredibly cheesy!!. How would you guys have tackled this in such difficult conditions?. Got any samples of your portrait work available?. I'm afraid I still don't even have a flashgun!.

This might not be of any interest to other photographers, but take a look at the link below. Any chance we could do something along these lines?. I don't suppose the models could be clothed and made up so elaborately, but I thought it might lead to some creative shots and allow several shooters to get pics at any one time: http://missanielablog.com/april-shoot-experience If I had the cash, I would consider going on one the these days out, but £350 is quite a lot for one session.

I see - In that case, its going to be quite a rush. I can't really see how anyone will have time to set up anything very specific.

I was assuming the models would be constantly spotlit by some kind of strong studio lights?. If the lighting is solely triggered by individual cameras, surely it will be impossible for every one to shoot the models in a fixed series of shooting sessions?. Everyone will have their 15 minutes with their own camera controlling the lights, then they will have to finish up and hand on to the next photographer?.

I geuss all of us will get a turn to ask for specific poses or clothing requirements, but we can all take photos of the models while they are posing for other members?. I'm fully with you regarding the 'tasteful' aspect of this. It would be great for me if the woman posing could bring along some robes/dressing gowns or something. I would also like to be able to turn some lights off so I could get some strong shadows on faces. Does all that sound possible?. Although this could be fun, I would like the resulting photos to be of some use for me - in my portfolio or as reference for artwork. I'm quite happy to take photos based on poses and clothing (or lack of) that other members have requested, but if I could make some significant alterations to the set up during my 15 minutes, that would certainly be worth £30. I'm happy to be the first to fully commit some cash. If nothing comes of this, I assume the cash would be refundable?.

What night are you wanting to meet with the cash and where?. Only got out from work at the charming time of 8pm today, so I don't think I will be able to do much more than meet and hand over cash if this happens next week, The wife will expect to see me at some point during the evening, after all...

No - I take your point about what people are interested in shooting. I understand that it's not going to work if everyone wheels out their family and pet dog for a photo session. I was wondering if the models could pose in something other than bikinis or suspenders or something - dunno what, just something attractive but reasonably demure?. Anyhow, the point is I am still interested, but work is a nightmare for the next couple of weeks. I'm starting early and working late, so am just too worn out to manage it right now. What is everyone's preference time wise?. After work in the evening would be good for me, as I have no childcare on saturdays. Is the studio in the town centre?.

I originally said I was interested in this but work has been a bit of a distraction recently. Hideous deadline tomorrow took my mind off it. Following on from previous posts, I have reservations about the 'glamour' aspect - and so does my wife!. I would just like some studio experience. It's a pity the other thread on the forum about a shared studio space has hit a snag. My preference is for somewhere we could hire to allow forum members time to shoot pics of friends and family. I guess thats a bit unfair on other members who really like the idea of it being specifically a glamour shoot.